Tag Archives: UK

Tesco to run hybrid nutritional labelling scheme

Posted on by
Reply

UK retail chain Tesco, a major customer for New Zealand’s meat exporters, has had a change of heart over traffic-light nutritional labelling,  says online food trade magazine Just-Food.

This is a major change in strategy for Tesco which up to now has supported the Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA) approach, the magazine says. Responding to consumer research, Tesco made the announcement last week that it will now be using a hybrid labelling system, including both GDA and traffic light systems.

Philip Clarke, Tesco’s chief executive said Tesco has led the way by giving shoppers clear information about the food they eat and was the first retailer to put nutritional information on the front of its packs in 2005 when it rolled out its GDA labels.

“We always listen to our customers and they have told us by combining our popular GDA labels with traffic light colour coding we can make it even easier for them to make informed and healthy choices about the food they buy,” he said.

The news has been welcomed by British health minister Andrew Lansley, NGOs and public health groups.

The consumer research was conducted by Penn Schoen and Berland and involved 1,002 UK adults aged over 18 in a quantitative online survey.

 

Meat price outlook is positive in spite of short-term wobbles

Posted on by
Reply

The exchange rate and uncertainty in the Eurozone remain the biggest negatives for red meat exports in the short-term, but industry commentator Allan Barber believes the outlook is sill positive heading into next year.

“It’s very hard to pick what will happen in Europe, which will inevitably have a large impact on lamb prices for the foreseeable future,” he says. “Southern Europe and the UK are technically in recession and are unlikely to improve much, at least until the European Central Bank (ECB) manages to sort out how it will cope with the trials of Greece, Spain and others.

“But the longer term prospects for lamb are still favourable, once inventories from the season just completed have moved through the trade.” Read more ….

Eton College chef ‘perfectly seasoned’

Posted on by
Reply

Louisa Matthews: 2012 UK-NZ Culinary Challenge winner.

New Zealand venison featured in a British competition for young chefs in April.

The winner of the 2012 Air NZ UK-NZ Culinary Challenge is 20-year-old Louisa Matthews, a young chef from Eton College in Windsor. She fought off tough competition from eight other finalists in a cook-off at Westminster Kingsway College in London to win the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to New Zealand on a three-week study trip experiencing the country’s top restaurants, visiting award-winning vineyards and suppliers, with the option of one week to explore the country.

Showcasing New Zealand venison, manuka honey and Bramley apples, Louisa’s award-winning menu comprised ‘perfectly seasoned and richly flavoured’ roast seabass with aioli crab croquette, mussel stew and winter vegetables, roast loin of venison, venison tortellini and Foie Gras foam; and a steamed manuka honey sponge, caramelised Bramley apple ice-cream and nettle beignet.

The UK-NZ Culinary Challenge was founded by well known Kiwi chef Peter Gordon, owner/chef of Providores and Tapa Room in London. Gordon commented that the eight finalists – all chosen from high calibre entries – “did themselves proud. Dishes were very creative with a good use of secondary cuts of venison from the rib cooked on the bone through to liver and kidneys, along with other interesting ingredients such as foraged foods and pulses. In the kitchen, the amount of gadgetary was a far cry from  the days of young chefs simply using a knife and pan, with molecular gastronomy making an appearance in the form of pea jellies through to foams.

“The qualty of the entries is a fantastic indication of how highly respected the competition is amongst tutors and employers around the UK in regards to the advancement of their junior staff and students.”

Steve Mulcahy, vice-president of competition organiser the British Craft Guild of Chefs, commented that he had no doubt Louisa will be a great ambassador for the competition when she travels to New Zealand to take up this once in a lifetime prize.

The other finalists were: Laura Daniels (Manchester College; Trung Nguyen (Westminster Kinsway College); Luke Orwin (Pan Heggarty Restaurant, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne); Joshua Saunders (Worcester College of Technology); Thomas Sturrock (Kopapa Restaurant, London).

Judges included: Peter Gordon, chef/proprieter The Providores and Tapa Room; David Mulcahy, culinary director Sodexco and Ireland; Anna Hansen, chef/proprieter The Modern Pantry; Sophie Wright, previous winner of the challenge and celebrity chef; and Cristian Hossack, head chef Providores and Tapa Room.

The UK-NZ Culinary Challenge is generously sponsored by Air New Zealand, Dudson, Bleeding Heart Restaurant, Trinity Hill Wines, Providores & Tapa Room, New Zealand Venison, New Zealand Society, Bramley Apples, Comvita and NZ Trade & Enterprise.

www.uknzculinarychallenge.com

 

Carbon labelling dropped

Posted on by
Reply

News from the UK suggests that supermarket giant Tesco has dropped its carbon labelling scheme after four and a half years, after discovering it was taking too long and costing too much money to document each of its 70,000 products. Only about 500 of the products are labelled, with a further 1,500 in the pipeline. The company retains its commitment to carbon footprinting, but will be shifting to global supply chain issues instead.